Selling your home in Belgium: steps and documents

Step 1: gather the documents

The notary describes the documents the seller must provide. The list depends on the Region and the type of property.

• The title deed: your purchase deed. If you inherited, you need proof of your status as heir, the inheritance tax return and, if it exists, the deceased’s purchase deed.
• Planning information (renseignements urbanistiques / stedenbouwkundige inlichtingen): the zoning of the land, permits, planning certificates. The requirements vary from one Region to another. The commune or municipality is the basic point of contact.
• The EPB certificate (energy performance). It must appear in all sale advertising in all three Regions. The notary specifies that it must also be given to the buyer “before the sale agreement is signed”. See our guide to the EPB certificate.
• The electrical inspection for a home, by an approved body. See the guide electrical inspection on sale.
• The soil certificate (attestation du sol / bodemattest) (pollution): in Brussels, a mandatory application to Bruxelles Environnement (the Brussels environment agency), to be given to the buyer before the deed; in Wallonia, a certified extract from the soil condition database to be consulted before any transfer; in Flanders, a bodemattest to be obtained before the compromis.
• The post-intervention file (DIU / postinterventiedossier), which gathers the information useful for future works. See the DIU guide.
• Oil heating, if there is a tank: the notary sets no explicit obligation, but the seller must inform the buyer (capacity, location, year of installation). See the tank guide.

Flat in co-ownership

Before the compromis, the seller in principle provides the amounts of the working capital fund and the reserve fund, any arrears of their own, the calls for funds, ongoing court proceedings, the minutes of the general meetings of the last three years and the last approved balance sheet. At the deed at the latest: expenses decided but payable after the deed, urgent works and the co-ownership’s debts linked to disputes. The syndic (the manager of the co-ownership) provides most of these documents. See co-ownership and syndic.

Rented property

Reread the lease, the inventory of fixtures and the rental deposit. Check whether the tenant has a right of first refusal and the notice period to be respected.

Step 2: put the property on the market

A private sale is, according to notaire.be, “the most common way” to sell, with or without an intermediary. Other routes exist: the online sale (Biddit) and the public sale, which is carried out exclusively by a notary.

If you use an agency, read the contract carefully: see the brokerage contract. For the agent, see also how to check an IPI estate agent.

Step 3: the offer, then the compromis

A purchase offer binds the person who makes it: notaire.be writes “An offer binds you!”. When a buyer makes you an offer that you accept, you move on to the compromis.

The sale agreement is most often signed at the notary’s, with payment of a deposit. Wikifin sums it up: “The sale agreement amounts to a sale.” Once it is signed, you can no longer sell to anyone else. It may contain a condition precedent, for example the buyer obtaining a loan. For the details, see the sale agreement.

Step 4: from signature to the deed

After the compromis, the notary carries out the mortgage and tax searches and prepares the notarial deed. They collect the registration duties (paid by the buyer, see registration duties) and organise the financial settlement between the parties. According to Wikifin, the deed is signed in practice within four months at most after the compromis; according to be.brussels, the law sets no time limit between the two, but the registration duties must be paid within 4 months of the compromis. The pages consulted give no other precise time limit. Your notary will give you the timetable for your file. See the role of the notary.

And tax on the sale?

If you resell a built property less than 5 years after buying it, the capital gain may be taxed at 16.5%. The home you occupy as the family home is exempt. See capital gains on property.

Which professional to consult

The notary checks the title deed, drafts the compromis or reviews the agency’s, then executes the deed. An estate agent can handle the listing and the viewings. The EPB assessor and the electrical inspection body are approved professionals. For the capital gain, the notary or an accountant can advise you.